Updates RE: Unlimited VS. Ultimate dining package

[AspiringCindy]

I’m considering getting the ultimate dining package on my upcoming 3 night aboard Mariner. The price is hard to pass at $76 per person. It says lunch included on seas days. Well... there are no sea days. Will I be able to have lunch at a specialty restaurant on embarkation day at least?

[Seville2Cabo]

Getting off Vision tomorrow. No Chops on embarkation, they said Key only. Did not try 2 places in one night or 2 entries. But did get wine discount and discount on sushi class. We would do it again. 

[later]

On allure last week. Chops only for key on embarkation day.  Giovanni’s was available .

also we were not allowed to use Johnny Rockets at all.

[annnmarie]

I am a frequent RCCL cruiser who usually does not purchase dining packages, usually only single reservations after boarding. However, I am curious about how those who have tried the new "unlimited" plan on RCCL, the plan that also includes lunches, found it to be ? I have three upcoming RCCL cruises before the end of 2019, but so far have found it is NOT offered on any of my ships/itineraries. Have been told this is only available on 7 day cruises and "a few" 5 day itineraries. Is this true ? Can anyone tell me WHICH ships offer this ? So far, no land based agent, nor direct booking with RCCL have been able to tell me which ships offer this new plan ! Told "you need to book and then go to my cruise planning page where it will show you if your ship offers this plan. I'd like to know which ships offer it so I could book one of them just to try this new plan ! Which CC friends out there have tried it ? Pros ? Any cons (such as not able to get reservations ?)

[cruisinfromtampa]

Thank you everyone for posting your experiences.  We have UDP booked in 3 weeks, and I'm glad to have some insight before we board so I can have my schedule ready.

[zooma]

2 hours ago, annnmarie said:

 I have three upcoming RCCL cruises before the end of 2019, but so far have found it is NOT offered on any of my ships/itineraries. Have been told this is only available on 7 day cruises and "a few" 5 day itineraries. Is this true ? Can anyone tell me WHICH ships offer this ? So far, no land based agent, nor direct booking with RCCL have been able to tell me which ships offer this new plan ! Told "you need to book and then go to my cruise planning page where it will show you if your ship offers this plan. I'd like to know which ships offer it so I could book one of them just to try this new plan ! Which CC friends out there have tried it ? Pros ? Any cons (such as not able to get reservations ?)

 

Available on Anthem 5-day to Bermuda. If relevant to you or others, I can update details in a few weeks after we return.

[agslc5]

3 hours ago, annnmarie said:

I am a frequent RCCL cruiser who usually does not purchase dining packages, usually only single reservations after boarding. However, I am curious about how those who have tried the new "unlimited" plan on RCCL, the plan that also includes lunches, found it to be ? I have three upcoming RCCL cruises before the end of 2019, but so far have found it is NOT offered on any of my ships/itineraries. Have been told this is only available on 7 day cruises and "a few" 5 day itineraries. Is this true ? Can anyone tell me WHICH ships offer this ? So far, no land based agent, nor direct booking with RCCL have been able to tell me which ships offer this new plan ! Told "you need to book and then go to my cruise planning page where it will show you if your ship offers this plan. I'd like to know which ships offer it so I could book one of them just to try this new plan ! Which CC friends out there have tried it ? Pros ? Any cons (such as not able to get reservations ?)

As usual you were given false info. It is not only available on 7 night sailings. It is supposed to be available on all ships and sailings Except for Major Holiday sailings like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.. Now the funny part about that is people have reported finding it on the cruise planner for Christmas and New Years.. I am going on a 3 night Navigator and bought the package.. I also have a 4 night planned and a 5 night planned and bought the package.. There basically as usual with RCL seems to be no Rule. It is supposed to be available for every sailing except for Holiday sailings and yet it has shown up on a holiday sailing so I am curious.. What do you have booked that its not shown up for? Is it a holiday? If not it should be available unless they somehow already sold too many packages for your sailing and they took it away.. 

[annnmarie]

Would LOVE to hear your opinion when you return.

 

[annnmarie]

I have 2 booked on Serenade, 11 day and 12 day, neither on a holiday. The only plans offered are the standard 3 and 5 night, dinners only plan. Nothing for the entire journey and definitely not the "unlimited" that includes lunch. Called C&A concierge number, told this is a test program only. Enough data has not yet been gathered and analyzed to determine if it will be rolled out fleet wide. Told it could be implemented regionally only (could be on all US departures and not offered at all in Europe, or vise versa). Told those decisions are only made AFTER a test period to determine their popularity. Am also booked on Symphony and not offered, however, the particular date I am going is for the RCCL 50th anniversary/President's cruise, so understandable with the number of added activities that involve food on these sailings, a "test" program on this particular sailing might not be offered. My "go to" ship near my home is now Harmony, but, friends report it is not offered on Harmony. Would be a nice package to buy on my longer trips on Serenade, lots of sea days to enjoy an "upscale" lunch !

[annnmarie]

Yes, definitely annoying. Notice that most people on this site, and other cruise/blog sites cruise often and JUST want an honest, straight forward, answer. Most are not looking to "bend" rules, get "exceptions", etc. Not only the unlimited dining, take a simple thing like "can" you, or "can you not" use your diamond lounge drink privileges to have one of your drinks in the main dining room. I do not let things like this get to me, but the list of ships I could post here where I was told "of COURSE" you can have your complimentary drink(s) right here, and then, done a B2B on another ship (now remember, I disembarked one RCCL ship and boarded another hours later, and sure enough, rather embarrassing after week one, to encounter that very night, "no" you must get your drink(s) IN the diamond lounge or in "most" of the other lounges, but not in the main dining room. Just let us KNOW the "real rules", that's all most of us ask. Same with unlimited dining vrs. ultimate dining. Can we (as it reads) or can we not, go to one restaurant and order only an appetizer and then (since it is "unlimited") visit another restaurant later that same night and have only an entrée? Some report they do, others get a stern "lecture". Just no need for this at all. It is difficult in large corporations to adequately and accurately communicate the rules, the "culture", the policies, etc. of the corporation, but, obviously most corporations manage to do it. Are the procedures, rules, policies at Mc D's uniform no matter what state or country you are in ? Do Disney employees get clear directions on the "rules" in their parks AND on their cruise ships.... YOU BET YOUR LIFE THEY DO. We WANT to be loyal, we ARE loyal, but please tell us the TRUE rules and don't change them at whim.  

Edited May 31, 2019 by annnmarie
mis-spelled word

[agslc5]

1 hour ago, annnmarie said:

I have 2 booked on Serenade, 11 day and 12 day, neither on a holiday. The only plans offered are the standard 3 and 5 night, dinners only plan. Nothing for the entire journey and definitely not the "unlimited" that includes lunch. Called C&A concierge number, told this is a test program only. Enough data has not yet been gathered and analyzed to determine if it will be rolled out fleet wide. Told it could be implemented regionally only (could be on all US departures and not offered at all in Europe, or vise versa). Told those decisions are only made AFTER a test period to determine their popularity. Am also booked on Symphony and not offered, however, the particular date I am going is for the RCCL 50th anniversary/President's cruise, so understandable with the number of added activities that involve food on these sailings, a "test" program on this particular sailing might not be offered. My "go to" ship near my home is now Harmony, but, friends report it is not offered on Harmony. Would be a nice package to buy on my longer trips on Serenade, lots of sea days to enjoy an "upscale" lunch !

ok I did some research and I think I figured out your problem.. I am a TA so I did some digging. They aren't currently offering it on all sailings over 9 nights so I think thats your problem.. But on Harmony for regular 7 night sailings they are absolutely offering it.. I currently have a client booked on Harmony and I helped them buy the package yesterday so your friends have been misinformed.. Plus I belong to many blog sites and I have seen people do a live report from Harmony and Symphony who bought the package and really enjoyed it. Im thinking if you want to go on Harmony and try it out thats actually a really good place to try it out because Oasis class ships have the most restaurant options. Good luck with whatever you decide. 

[Fab Trips]

4 hours ago, agslc5 said:

ok I did some research and I think I figured out your problem.. I am a TA so I did some digging. They aren't currently offering it on all sailings over 9 nights so I think thats your problem.. But on Harmony for regular 7 night sailings they are absolutely offering it.. I currently have a client booked on Harmony and I helped them buy the package yesterday so your friends have been misinformed.. Plus I belong to many blog sites and I have seen people do a live report from Harmony and Symphony who bought the package and really enjoyed it. Im thinking if you want to go on Harmony and try it out thats actually a really good place to try it out because Oasis class ships have the most restaurant options. Good luck with whatever you decide. 

This information is in conflict with what is in the TA site under Planning Tools tab "quick reference" here is the information   

 

 

"Dining Packages:

The below does not apply to China sailings.
 

Ultimate Package has been replaced with new program called "Ulimited Dining Package".  

 

This new program will allow your clients to dine in any restaurant on their sailing as many times as they’d like. Yes, if they’d like to dine at Chops twice in one night, they can! We’re also adding Playmakers which will function similarly to the very popular Izumi: your clients will be given a $35 per person dining credit each time they dine at these à la carte venues. Dining options subject to availability. 

This package will be available to purchase in Precruise Planner starting Friday, April 12th, 2019 and is available on sailings from 3 to 14 nights on all ships except MJ. Pricing for the Unlimited will be very similar to what the Ultimate was previously and will vary by sail date."

 

As noted on earlier posts RCI is not clear on what the Unlimited dining package is about, it has been internally misinterpreted and very poorly and badly communicated. 

Edited May 31, 2019 by Fab Trips

[wendyam76]

I have it booked for our October Harmony sailing - had it under the old title but it was transferred over. I would love consistency - hate that some ships allow for example Johnny Rockets and others don’t or the Solarium upcharge items.

Wendy 

[agslc5]

5 hours ago, Fab Trips said:

This information is in conflict with what is in the TA site under Planning Tools tab "quick reference" here is the information   

 

 

"Dining Packages:

The below does not apply to China sailings.
 

Ultimate Package has been replaced with new program called "Ulimited Dining Package".  

 

This new program will allow your clients to dine in any restaurant on their sailing as many times as they’d like. Yes, if they’d like to dine at Chops twice in one night, they can! We’re also adding Playmakers which will function similarly to the very popular Izumi: your clients will be given a $35 per person dining credit each time they dine at these à la carte venues. Dining options subject to availability. 

This package will be available to purchase in Precruise Planner starting Friday, April 12th, 2019 and is available on sailings from 3 to 14 nights on all ships except MJ. Pricing for the Unlimited will be very similar to what the Ultimate was previously and will vary by sail date."

 

As noted on earlier posts RCI is not clear on what the Unlimited dining package is about, it has been internally misinterpreted and very poorly and badly communicated. 

your right it is. I reached out to my specific Rep from Royal and thats where I got my info.. Not surprised they are telling multiple things to different people. 

[RFerrington]

15 hours ago, agslc5 said:

As usual you were given false info. It is not only available on 7 night sailings. It is supposed to be available on all ships and sailings Except for Major Holiday sailings like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.. Now the funny part about that is people have reported finding it on the cruise planner for Christmas and New Years.. I am going on a 3 night Navigator and bought the package.. I also have a 4 night planned and a 5 night planned and bought the package.. There basically as usual with RCL seems to be no Rule. It is supposed to be available for every sailing except for Holiday sailings and yet it has shown up on a holiday sailing so I am curious.. What do you have booked that its not shown up for? Is it a holiday? If not it should be available unless they somehow already sold too many packages for your sailing and they took it away.. 

We are on a Thanksgiving sailing on Brilliance and we were able to get the UDP.

 

We are on everything from 3 - 8 night sailings and the UDP has been offered on every cruise that we are booked on.

 

We had the UDP in April on Freedom and we were able to eat at Chops on embarkation day.  As a matter of fact, we were given the "regular" lunch menu while those with the Key received the more limited Key menu.

[agslc5]

20 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

We are on a Thanksgiving sailing on Brilliance and we were able to get the UDP.

 

We are on everything from 3 - 8 night sailings and the UDP has been offered on every cruise that we are booked on.

 

We had the UDP in April on Freedom and we were able to eat at Chops on embarkation day.  As a matter of fact, we were given the "regular" lunch menu while those with the Key received the more limited Key menu.

Yeah I know someone on a Thanksgiving sailing that also got the package.. Also like you I have a 3 night, a 4 night, and a 7 night booked and were able to get packages for all cruises.. So I really have no idea why this person is having trouble purchasing the package.. Also I don't know why her friends told her they don't sell it on Harmony sailings because they absolutely do.. 

[orkaren1]

19 hours ago, annnmarie said:

I am a frequent RCCL cruiser who usually does not purchase dining packages, usually only single reservations after boarding. However, I am curious about how those who have tried the new "unlimited" plan on RCCL, the plan that also includes lunches, found it to be ? I have three upcoming RCCL cruises before the end of 2019, but so far have found it is NOT offered on any of my ships/itineraries. Have been told this is only available on 7 day cruises and "a few" 5 day itineraries. Is this true ? Can anyone tell me WHICH ships offer this ? So far, no land based agent, nor direct booking with RCCL have been able to tell me which ships offer this new plan ! Told "you need to book and then go to my cruise planning page where it will show you if your ship offers this plan. I'd like to know which ships offer it so I could book one of them just to try this new plan ! Which CC friends out there have tried it ? Pros ? Any cons (such as not able to get reservations ?)

We are sailing a 7 night cruise on Harmony and purchased the Ultimate Dining package during the black Friday sale.  They automatically changed it to the Unlimited package when the plan was changed and they said we now have Izumi hibachi included.  I do note on the cruise planner that the Unlimited Plan is a little hard to find.  You have to look at the dining screen and then go all the way to the bottom of the list, past the shorter packages and past the reservations for individual restaurants.  The Unlimited package was all the way at the bottom of the dining reservations screen.

 

[soflalaw]

On 5/30/2019 at 9:26 PM, agslc5 said:

As usual you were given false info. It is not only available on 7 night sailings. It is supposed to be available on all ships and sailings Except for Major Holiday sailings like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.. Now the funny part about that is people have reported finding it on the cruise planner for Christmas and New Years.. I am going on a 3 night Navigator and bought the package.. I also have a 4 night planned and a 5 night planned and bought the package.. There basically as usual with RCL seems to be no Rule. It is supposed to be available for every sailing except for Holiday sailings and yet it has shown up on a holiday sailing so I am curious.. What do you have booked that its not shown up for? Is it a holiday? If not it should be available unless they somehow already sold too many packages for your sailing and they took it away.. 

On Navigator from June 21 to 24. What restaurants are on that ship, and are all included within UDP? If so, I have been toying with getting it for this cruise. Already purchased it for me (Carnivore diet) and my DW (Vegetarian) on a September 28 Symphony sailing. Appreciate your updated information. BTW, it was not listed as being available on the Majesty OTS, as mentioned by someone previously.

Edited June 1, 2019 by soflalaw
Update re: Majesty OTS.

[seabeew]

2 hours ago, soflalaw said:

On Navigator from June 21 to 24. What restaurants are on that ship, and are all included within UDP? If so, I have been toying with getting it for this cruise. Already purchased it for me (Carnivore diet) and my DW (Vegetarian) on a September 28 Symphony sailing. Appreciate your updated information. BTW, it was not listed as being available on the Majesty OTS, as mentioned by someone previously.

Navigator has Chops, Izumi, Jamie’s, Hooked, and Playmakers. We had no problem eating appetizers at Hooked and dinner at one of the other restaurants one night. 

 

Majesty does not offer the package as the ship does not have any specialty restaurants.

[annnmarie]

On ‎5‎/‎31‎/‎2019 at 1:58 PM, orkaren1 said:

Would love to hear your comments on the plan ! Friends and I have still not been able to access unlimited plan in our cruise planners for Dec. Serenade trip, but someone did comment it is very difficult to find this on the planner page. Said to access it one had to by pass all the dining and drink packages, and continue on to the bottom of the page. Will try again.

 

 

[j1d1]

Just got off Mariner OTS yesterday.  I had purchased the Ultimate Dining Package for my wife and I last Black Friday for $72/each which I thought was a very good price for a 4-night cruise.  Plan was changed to Unlimited Dining Package when that change was made.

 

We were one of the first people on the ship.  The first thing I did was find the person doing specialty reservations.  I think I was the second person to find him, so no problems getting reservations we wanted.  On Mariner, the following venues were included in the package: Chops, Jamie's, Izumi Hibachi, Playmakers, and Johnny Rockets.  I never inquired about the Bamboo Room.  Mostly to see if they would let me, I asked if I could book something early in a night and another later the same night.  He said no.  He said one venue per night only.  I pointed out that the website said everything was unlimited.  He just laughed and said only one venue per night.  I really didn't care as was mostly trying to do it to see what would happen.  After the fact, I know there is no way I could even attempt to do appetizers at one place and dinner at another.  Just way too much food.  Regardless, it would be nice if onboard experience matched what was promised by advertising, website, customer service, etc.  Also I was told each night that only one entree was allowed (except at Jamie's where you can get small portions in addition to one main entree).  I didn't push this either as I didn't ever want more than one entree, but again advertising doesn't match the experience.

 

I booked the following (or so I thought): Jamie's night 1 at 7, Chops night 2 at 7, Izumi night 3 at 6, Chops night 4 at 7.  Two hiccups.  One a mild annoyance.  The other a little more complicated but ultimately no big deal.  First, he made all the reservations for our whole family.  Just my wife and I had the package, and I specified it was just us dining.  The plan was to feed the children at the buffet or Cafe Promenade.  My wife and I would dine alone at specialty venues.  The first couple times we showed up, they expected the whole family and seemed slightly annoyed that it was just the two of us.  I finally figured out that I could edit the reservations in the app to just my wife and I.  Ultimately this was no big deal.  The second hiccup was that reservations were entered wrong for night 4.  The guy who did the reservations just writes them down and enters them into electronic system later.  He ended up entering both our night 3 and night 4 reservations on night 3.  The irony is that I did temporarily have two reservations on one night.  The downside was that we ended up with no night 4 reservation.  Fortunately I noticed this pretty early in the app.  On night one at Jamie's, I asked the manager about it.  She said it looked ok in their system.  I was skeptical as my app still had it wrong.  The next day I checked at Chops, he said it was still wrong in their system.  No 7:00 reservations were available at that point.  He changed it to a 6:00 reservation on night 4 but said we could show up at 7.  Annoying that manager at Jamie's failed to fix it, but ultimately this was not a major deal.  It would be nice if they did the reservations electronically from the start.  I definitely recommend checking the reservations in the app on day one to make sure they are correct.

 

My plan was to try and get lunch at Jamie's on embarkation day, since Chops is much busier with Key guests.  I confirmed with the managers at both Chops and Jamie's that lunch on embarkation day was included.  Unfortunately, we didn't get there in time.  They only keep the kitchens open until about 1:30.  We spent time getting lunch for the kids and going to our staterooms.  We got back to Jamie's about 1:25 and were told the kitchen was closed.  Chops said the same.  We were told that we could go to Playmakers or Johnny Rockets, but I wasn't in the mood for burgers, fries, etc.  So lunch on embarkation day on Mariner is definitely included.  We just didn't get to use it.  Food from the buffet was very good though.

 

Dinner at Jamie's night one was very good.  Our server, Carlos, was very helpful.  I really enjoyed the lamb chops and truffle pasta.  One helpful thing is that you can get any pasta dish other than lasagna as a small portion if you want to try it.  That was nice.  Overall a very enjoyable meal.

 

My plan for sea day lunch was to use the ala carte option to have sushi at Izumi.  Unfortunately, we were again too slow.  We got lunch for the kids at the buffet.  It was just before 1:30 as we finished up, so we went into Chops as it was right there.  There were very accommodating.  Lunch was very good.  Our server, Loyd, was great.  Every steak at Chops was cooked perfectly.  I get my steaks medium rare.  I've found many restaurants get it wrong with steaks being overcooked.  Between my wife and I, we had six steaks at Chops over the cruise.  All were cooked perfectly.  (Side note: Why do so many people destroy good meat by getting it cooked beyond medium?  I heard so many people order their steak medium well this week.  Just painful to hear.)

 

Dinner at Chops night 2 was also good.  It was very busy so service was not as attentive.  It was clear the servers were working very hard.  Meal was good.  I'd say wedge salad, ribeye, and key lime pie were highlights.  Lobster bisque was not very good.

 

On our Nassau day (day 3), we didn't get off the boat.  We spent a lot of time in Playmakers.  I enjoyed the Goalpost Margaritas (extra jalapeno) and my kids enjoyed the Foosball table.  Since I was there, I decided to try the food.  I was told the allowance was $30/person.  I'm pretty sure it is supposed to be $35 but didn't push it as I wasn't ordering that much food.  I ordered pork sliders and wings.  Both were good.  I wish they offered wings in a smaller portion.  The smallest portion is 12 which is still a lot of wings for 1-2 people.

 

Dinner night 3 was at Izumi Hibachi.  This was great.  I've read about different ways the the Hibachi has been included under the Unlimited Dining Package.  On Mariner, there are different prices for the different protein options.  The higher tier is usally $45.  We were told that we could pick from the higher priced protein option without any additional fee.  I picked the steak and shrimp option that is usually $45.  There was no extra fee.  The chef was great.  He was very entertaining.  Unfortunately our tablemates were not very entertaining.  Three of them were Royal employees.  I'm glad to see that they were able to partake, but they were pretty reserved as one would expect.  The other people at the table also weren't fun, but didn't have any excuse.  The food was great.  I was very impressed with the fried rice and the steak.  I also really liked the Spicy Okinawa drink.  Great experience that could have been better with more fun tablemates.  If you have the UDP, definitely go to the hibachi.

 

Dinner night 4 was again at Chops.  Our server (can't remember his name) was great.  Food was again very good.  I tried the mushroom soup this time and it is very good.  It was WAY better than the lobster bisque.  Wedge salad was again very good.  9oz filet was wonderful.  Key lime pie was great.

 

A couple other points.  On other ships, people were told Johnny Rockets was not included.  We were told it was included but never put it to the test.  My wife was pretty disappointed in the by the glass red wine offerings at the different venues.  She would have liked to have a little better selection for specialty dining.

 

Some final thoughts.  My wife and I enjoyed the UDP a great deal.  It was a wonderful experience.  Especially for the price we paid.  But something unexpected happened.  As part of the experience, we spent more time in the buffet feeding our children then we ever had in the past.  This was our first Royal cruise, but on our other cruises, we always did the MDR for dinner.  In checking out the buffet for dinner for the kids, I realized what an amazing option it is for dinner.  There were so many offerings and most of them looked really good.  The specialty dining food was great, but the options were very limited as one might expect.  We decided that for future cruises we are going to be a buffet for dinner family.  Plenty of options for the whole family and you don't have to commit 1-2 hours for the experience.  We will likely do the Hibachi at some point with the family for the experience, but probably won't be doing the UDP again.

 

This ended up longer than expected.  Hopefully it is helpful to somebody in some way.  I'll try to answer any questions.

 

 

 

 

 

   

[martinclm]

We are booked on a 7 day cruise on Symphony of the Seas but not until February 22, 2020.  So prices for dining except Jamies aren't available in the Cruise Planner yet.  Is there anyone that has gone on Symphony before, know what the prices are for the Unlimited Dining Package?

 

Thank you in advance

Diane  

[Oxo]

55 minutes ago, martinclm said:

We are booked on a 7 day cruise on Symphony of the Seas but not until February 22, 2020.  So prices for dining except Jamies aren't available in the Cruise Planner yet.  Is there anyone that has gone on Symphony before, know what the prices are for the Unlimited Dining Package?

 

Thank you in advance

Diane  

For our Nov 09, 2019 booking it is $175/person.

[Ronaldo807]

Just got off Harmony and had the UDP. We had no problem going to any restaurant for dinner (Hibachi was included and we did not get charged for the two item meal). We went to Sabor on embarkation day as well as a couple of port days when it opened at 2:00 for lunch. We went to Izumi for lunch on the first sea day and Jamie's on the 2nd sea day. We did not make reservations for lunch, but should have in hindsight as we wanted to go back to Izumi the 2nd sea day but were turned away do to capacity. We saw other people turned away at Jamie's after we got a table. Worth it to us for a ship that has so many specialty dining options, but I don't think we would buy it for every sailing.

[martinclm]

On 6/2/2019 at 2:48 PM, Oxo said:

For our Nov 09, 2019 booking it is $175/person.

Ugh....ok.  I know that it's worth the cost, it's just a lot of money.  Was that with a "discount" at all?